Binnie Kirshenbaum Reading
Binnie Kirshenbaum reads from her novel entitled An Almost Perfect Moment. During a question and answer session, Kirshenbaum points out that the voices of the characters in the book had been with her for many years--they would be saying, “What a face, will you look at that face.” When Kirshenbaum tried to imagine the face that these voices were referring to, she pictured the Virgin Mary--and thus the main character was created. Kirshenbaum points out that the setting of the novel is in Brooklyn, in an area where Jewish and Italian families grew up together. She wanted to be able to explore the way people dealt with differing cultures as well as religions.
Kirshenbaum goes on to discuss the use of humor in her novel, pointing out that she often looks at humor as “tragedy taken to its farthest limit.” She discusses the characters in her novel, describing them in terms of their faith and personal beliefs. Kirshenbaum does concede that there are “miracles” that take place in her novel, but points out that she was careful to provide a rational explanation for events so that the reader could decide either way. She goes on to discuss recurring imagery in An Almost Perfect Moment, specifically a pair of yellow birds that appear throughout the book.
Kirshenbaum ends by discussing critical reception of her novel thus far, speaking specifically of Norman Mailer’s critique of the book. She also talks about her experience as a creative writing professor at Columbia University.
In: "Live from Prairie Lights" Audio Archive | Fiction
Authors: Binnie Kirshenbaum
Date Recorded: March 08, 2004
Works Read: An Almost Perfect Moment by Binnie Kirshenbaum
Program: Live From Prairie Lights
Format: reading
Contributors: Introduction by host Julie Englander.
Topics: Virgin Mary, Judaism, sex, miracles, teaching, character development